The Prospector 02/01/11

The University of Texas at El Paso · February 1, 2011

BY DIANA ARRIETAThe Prospector

Students and faculty from the University of Texas at El Paso joined together Jan. 29 at the Sunland Park – Anapra border fence in a binational rally that brought together people from Ciudad Juárez and El Paso demanding an end to the violence on the border.

“A day of action/Un día de acción” was or-ganized by Peace and Justice Without Bor-ders, a community-founded organization established in August 2010.

“We are here to stand up against the vio-lence in Juárez and to refl ect the concern of the people in a call for solidarity,” said Chris-tina Garcia, senior political science major and member of the event’s organizing com-mittee. “Th is is our way to tell authorities on both sides of the border to do something; we are frustrated and concerned.”

Poets, musicians and speakers from both sides of the border echoed this frustration

through the presentation of readings and testimonies that aroused the crowds.

“If Juárez dies, El Paso dies,” said Benjamin Alire Sáenz, associate professor and chair of the Department of Creative Writing at UTEP before reading his poem, “God Send an An-gel.” “Th e people of Juárez are our neighbors and we care about what is happening.”

Th e rally took place simultaneously on both sides of the fence. On the Juárez side, civil organizations held several events to commemorate the fi rst anniversary of the massacre of Villas de Salvarcar, when 15 young students were killed during a party. Th e events started Jan. 29 and continued throughout the weekend.

More than 3,100 people were killed in Juarez last year. According to local press re-ports, more than 200 people have been killed in the city in January.

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You Deserve It!

A call to action

DIANA AMARO / The Prospector

El Pasoans hold hands during the Jan. 29 Peace and Justice Protest that took place along the Sunland Park-Anapra border fence.

UTEP joins to call an end to border violence

Duarte returns award in protest

GREG CASTILLO / The Prospector

UTEP President Diana Natalicio listens to the main speakers of the Cesar Chavez rally in the President’s Conference Room.

MULTIMEDIAVisit The Pros-pector’s online multimedia section to watch a video of the Jan. 29 peace protest.

One free copy per student

BY ERIN COULEHANThe Prospector

UTEP students, alumni and community activist groups gathered at Leech Grove Jan. 27 to protest the removal of Cesar Chavez Day as an observed holiday.

Pete Duarte, UTEP alum, former CEO of what is now the University Medical Center and recipient of the Col-lege of Liberal Arts’ Gold Nugget award in 2004, was joined by students, guest speakers and activist groups in marching from Leech Grove to UTEP President Di-ana Natalicio’s offi ce to return the award in protest of the university’s decision to cancel the observed holiday.

“Th e action taken by the Faculty Senate is not only a slap in the face to the students, faculty and staff on cam-

pus, but it is an act of cultural/racial genocide against that majority population of our area,” Duarte said.

When the Executive Council of the Faculty Senate announced the decision to remove Cesar Chavez Day as an observed holiday, students, alumni and other El Pasoans sprang to action to protest the decision based on the University of Texas System’s guidelines regard-ing the number of days aff orded to universities for ob-served holidays.

“Why do we keep religious holidays and not so-cial activist holidays?” said Emily Conry, sophomore health sciences major.

As Duarte returned the award, Natalicio said she un-derstands the community’s protest over the removal of the holiday. She said the university is working toward

see BORDER on page 3see DUARTE on page 3

perspectivesPAGE 2

editor-in-chiefAaron Martinez, 747-7477

February 1, 2011

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BY AARON MARTINEZThe Prospector

John Lennon once said: “You ei-ther get tired fi ght-ing for peace, or you die.”

And, for the fi rst time in decades UTEP’s student

community has fi nally come to life.As violence in Ciudad Juárez con-

tinues to aff ect students and with the university’s decision to remove Ce-sar Chavez day as an offi cial holiday, UTEP students have fi nally gotten angry and made their voices heard. Not since the ‘60s and ‘70s have UTEP students held so many pro-tests. With four protests taking place over the last seven days, it seems the apathetic attitude of most students is fi nally gone.

During my time as editor-in-chief, I have had students come to my offi ce to try and put forth big issues that are of concern to the student body. Th e only problem was that they were always the same three students, and once we published a story exposing a problem, nobody seemed to care enough to do anything about it.

Glimpses of the eff ect students can have when they join together and make their voices heard was evident last year when the university tried to slip the Campus Life and Athletic Enhancement Initiative past the stu-dent body. In a show of disapproval, the initiative was voted down 2,339 to 1,267. Although the outcry was a step forward in getting UTEP stu-dents to care about issues aff ecting them, only a small percentage of the student body participated in voting on the initiative.

While in this case, the impact of students making their voices heard had a clear result as the initiative failed to pass, the eff ects of a protest or a rally are not usually as obvious.

When Pete Duarte, UTEP alum and recipient of the College of Liber-al Arts’ Gold Nugget award in 2004, led the protest Jan. 27 and returned his award to UTEP President Diana Natalicio, the early signs of this ges-ture showed the possibility that the community can aff ect change.

When Duarte returned his award, Natalicio seemed to back track on the university’s decision to remove the holiday, and now the administra-tion seems to be making an eff ort to reverse the decision and return the

day that was meant to celebrate the achievements of Chavez.

As for the protest about the ongo-ing drug-related violence in our sis-ter city, the impact of these eff orts will probably not be as eff ective. Th e protesters were able to display their solidarity and universal desire to bring peace to this violence-plagued city. While this issue is important to citizens on both sides of the border, I sincerely doubt it will cause the drug cartels to end their reign of terror.

Whether the impact of a protest is immediate or just a show of concern, it is a critical step in our society to show the leaders of the world that change is desired and needed.

Th is recent outburst of the UTEP community’s commitment to make their voices heard should make ev-eryone on campus, including the university offi cials at the center of the controversy, proud to be a Miner.

Hopefully, the passion UTEP stu-dents have recently shown will re-main strong for many years, and our campus will remain alive and con-tinue the tiring fi ght for justice and peace on both sides of the border.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at [email protected].

Editor-in-Chief: Aaron MartinezLayout Editor: Sarah A. BurchettOnline Editor: Sergio RamirezEntertainment Editor: Matthew MundenSports Editor: Sal GuerreroMultimedia Editor: Nicole ChavezPhoto Editor: Diana AmaroCopy Editor: Vanessa M. JuarezReporters: Alex MoralesCorrespondents: Avelyn Murillo, Anoushka Valodya, Beatriz A. Castañeda, Diana Arrieta, Jazmin Salinas, Audrey Russell, Jackie Devine, Alejandro Alba, Celia Aguilar, Erin Coulehan, William Vega, Kristopher RiveraPhotographers: Luis Jasso, Diego Bedolla, Jesus Perez, Sofi a De Anda, Bob Corral

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vol. 96, no. 22prospector

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PAGE3NEWSTHE PROSPECTORFebruary 1, 2011

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a solution to continue to honor Cesar Chavez Day.

“I have been working on trying to resolve this issue,” Natalicio said in a press conference. “We have a process in place where we are trying to adjust the calendar to make it possible to commemorate this holiday. Th e inten-tion of the Faculty Senate was not to, in anyway, show disrespect to Cesar Chavez.”

Students were joined on the lawn of Leech Grove by community mem-bers including clergymen, lawyers and farm workers, as well as groups such as Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan and Cultural Artists United for Student Action.

“Th is (protest) is the start of a series of events,” said Adrian Rivera, presi-dent of CAUSA.

Historically, Cesar Chavez day has been celebrated as an optional state holiday, unlike other national holidays that honor social activists, such as Martin Luther King Day. Th ough stu-dents and faculty will not get March 31 off as a holiday, the university is mak-ing the eff ort to commemorate Cesar Chavez Day by sponsoring events on campus from February to April in ac-knowledgment of Chavez.

Chavez was from Yuma, Arizona and founded the United Farm Work-

ers with fellow activist Dolores Huer-ta. He fought for better wages through strikes and protests and his work ul-timately led to numerous improve-ments for union laborers. Chavez is a prominent political fi gure in the His-panic community, especially at UTEP, where approximately 76 percent of the student body is Hispanic.

“It’s not that we don’t recognize it. We recognize it with activities and academic programs,” said Richard Adauto, executive vice president of UTEP.

Erin Coulehan may be reached at [email protected].

DUARTE from page 1

“Th is is not a war against the drug cartels, this is a war against the people of Juárez and it needs to stop,” said Selfa Chew-Smithart, associate professor of history at UTEP. “People are living without the protection of the govern-ment and we need to raise our voices in a call for justice and peace; ‘ya basta!’”

Jorge Gomez, English and American literature graduate student, said creat-ing unity between the two cities is an

important step to help the victims of the ongoing drug violence.

“I think it’s important to express union to our neighbors; we are all one people and what Juárez is going through now is unprecedented,” said Gomez, president of the Miners With-out Borders organization. “Th e reason that we are gathered on this day of ac-tion is because it’s time for the people of El Paso to show support and solidar-ity to those in Juárez.”

Diana Arrieta may be reached at [email protected].

BORDER from page 1

Government

Napolitano: Violence wonʼt spillover

DANIEL ROSAS / The Prospector

Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, de-lievers a speech Jan. 31 at Magoffin Auditorium.

BY AARON MARTINEZThe Prospector

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Na-politano visited UTEP Jan. 31 at Magoffi n Auditorium to discuss the eff orts that have been done to make the southwest border safer and to assure the citizens of this region that the border violence won’t spillover into the United States.

“We need to be up front and clear about what’s really happening along our borders. Our border communities are safe,” Napoli-tano said.

Napolitano sent out a warning to the drug cartels about the consequences they will face if they attempt to threaten the safety and secu-rity of the border communities.

“So today I say to the cartels: Don’t even think about bringing your violence and tac-tics across this border. You will be met by an overwhelming response. And we’re going to continue to work with our partners in Mexico to dismantle and defeat you,” Napolitano said.

see SPILLOVER on page 5

PAGE4NEWS THE PROSPECTORFebruary 1, 2011

BY CANDICE MARLENE DURANThe Prospector

Th e Bill Archer Fellowship Program is an opportunity for undergraduate students at UTEP to land any intern-ship of their choice in Washington D.C.

Michael Topp, chair of the Depart-ment of History and involved with the program for three years, said the experience students can get through the Archer Fellowship can help build towards success once they leave college.

“It helps enormously to have some experience, involvement in student government or student campus life,” Topp said. “Or doing work for the community outside of UTEP.

To participate in the Archer Fellow-ship Program, students must have at least a 3.0 GPA, junior standing by the time the internship begins and be registered at UTEP for summer 2011.

“Th ey will be signed up for two courses at UTEP, then three courses in Washington, D.C.,” Topp said. “Six hours for their internship in any or-ganization, earning them 15 credit hours in total.”

As part of the fellowship, students are required to take a political science and communications course. How-ever the Archer program is an experi-ence open to all students at UTEP.

“Any student across campus should take interest,” Topp said. “A number of them have come from Liberal Arts, but we’ve had pre-med students go,

we open it up to anybody across cam-pus. But the opportunities to work, network and do an internship with whoever you can get one with in D.C. should appeal to everyone.”

Teodoro Garcia, Archer alumnus and senior political science major, suggests that students should at least look into this program and ask ques-tions. Garcia said the program was one of the best decisions he made for his career.

“It (Bill Archer Fellowship Pro-gram) gave me the chance to do what I wanted to since I was little, which was to work in the Capitol,” Garcia said. “Th e entire time I was there, I could not believe that I was able to work and have complete access to both chambers and be the ultimate ‘tourist’.”

Abril Tavares, international busi-ness and marketing major, describes

her participation with the Archer Program as a once in a lifetime experience.

“I loved getting to live with the life-long friends that I met,” Tavares said. “I enjoyed the locations around D.C. where we had class and being able to see the changing of the sea-sons from summer to fall to winter, and just the countless memories cre-ated in D.C. that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

Tavares said the experience she gained through the fellowship has been a major benefi t as she moves followed in her education and her career.

“Because of the acceptance to the program, I was able to accept an in-ternship position with Department of Defense,” Tavares said. “And that has turned into a full time position in the DC area.”

One of the aspects that may turn students away from the program is the cost to participate in it. Th e to-tal cost for students is approximately $8,000, which includes housing and transportation. Th is doesn’t include the cost of tuition for the program.

Clarissa Jaime, UTEP alumna, said some students may be intimidated by cost, but they should not let that stop them from applying for the fellowship.

“Don’t let the cost of the program turn you away,” said Jaime, current graduate student at the University of Boston. “I was worried about taking out loans, but looking back on it now, it is one of the best investments I ever made.”

Th e program gets around eight to ten applications and sends about two or three students a year. In eff orts to get more people involved, Topp will hold open houses around the UTEP campus. Each open houses will be at-tended by faculty, students and alum-ni of the Archer Program.

Open house meetings will take place Feb. 4 at Benedict hall, Room 205, Feb. 8 at 11:30 to 1:00 in the Lib-eral Arts Building, Room 309, and 11:30 to 1:00 Feb. 11 at Cotton Me-morial Building.

Th e application deadline for this year’s program is Feb. 18. For more information, visit www.archercenter.org.

Candice Marlene Duran may be reached at [email protected].

Archer Fellowship program fi nds internship opportunities in D.C.Academics

“I loved getting to live with the life-long friends that I met. I enjoyed the locations around D.C. where we had class and being able to see the changing of the seasons from summer to fall to winter, and just the countless memories created in D.C. that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

- Abril Tavares, international business and marketing major

PAGE5NEWSTHE PROSPECTORFebruary 1, 2011


Secretary of Homeland Se-curity, Janet Napolitano, gave a speech about border protection strategies along the southwest border.

Napolitano recognized that the U.S. still faces challenges to help our neighboring country and to prevent any potential threat to our country.

“Th at’s not to say we still don’t face challenges. We are deeply concerned about the drug cartel violence taking place in Mexico,” Napolitano said. “We know that these drug organiza-tions are seeking to undermine the rule of law in Northern Mexico and that we must guard against spillover eff ects into the United States.”

During her speech at UTEP, Na-politano discussed the goals of the Southwest Border Initiative, a legis-lative plan calling for increased intel-ligence capability and synchronized coordination with local, state and Mexican authorities to secure border regions in U.S cities such as El Paso, San Diego and Brownsville.

Th e coordinated eff ort, she said, has helped to reduce illegal immi-gration crossings and violent crimes along the border.

“Border Patrol apprehensions – a key indicator of illegal immigra-tion—have decreased 36 percent in the past two years, and are less than half of what they were at their peak,” Napolitano said. “Violent crimes in Southwest border counties have dropped by more than 30 percent and are currently among the lowest in the nation per capita.”

Napolitano added that crime rates in Nogales, Douglas, Yuma and other Arizona border towns have remained essentially fl at for the past decade, even as drug-related vio-lence has dramatically increased in Mexico.

Attendees of the event, how-ever, were not fully satisfi ed with Napolitano’s remarks, and protes-tors gathered outside of Magoffi n Auditorium.

“Typical politician bull: spit out some statistics and numbers, answer some general questions and get out,” said Shawn Treadwell, sophomore biomedical major.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at [email protected]. Erin Coulehan contributed to this story.

SPILLOVER from page 3

editorDiana Amaro, 747-7446our viewFebruary 1, 2011

PAGE 6

Community demonstrates protest power

Top and far left: Activists on both sides of the Sunland Park/Anapra border protested for peace Jan. 29.

Middle: Pete Duarte returned his College of Liberal Arts’ Gold Nugget award to President Diana Natalicio, in protest of the Faculty Senate’s decision to remove Ce-sar Chavez Day as a holiday.

Far right and immediate right: Members of the UTEP community protested various is-sues during Secretary of Home-land Security Janet Napolitano’s visit Jan. 31.



GREG CASTILLO / The Prospector


AUDREY RUSSELL / The Prospector

entertainmentPAGE 7

February 1, 2011

editorMatthew Munden, 747-7442

DANIEL ROSAS/ The Prospector

The Border Art Biennial, located in downtown El Paso at the Museum of Art, runs until Feb. 13 and admission is free..

Art biennial depicts border issues

BY ALEJANDRO ALBAThe Prospector

Tire tracks fi rmly stamped against the wall and a larger-than-life or-nate pistol are just some of the pieces shown at the Border Art Biennial at the El Paso Museum of Art.

With over 800 artistic entries from four diff erent states and fi ve Mexican states, only 42 made the exhibition. Th e works are now being displayed on both sides of the border in El Paso’s Museum of Art and Ciudad Juárez’s Paso Del Norte.

“I fi nd it great that modern artists from both sides of the border are be-ing honored,” said Jon Floresca, se-nior pre-medical major. “Especially during the current violence in Juárez, seeing the art that citizens of Mexico created is important.”

Th e Border Art Biennial is young, only beginning in 2008. But accord-ing to Christian Gerstheimer, curator

at the El Paso Museum of Art, the bi-ennial has been a success, attracting school groups, local artists and art enthusiasts.

“Th e year 2010 had a better turn out than the fi rst time we put this togeth-er in 2008,” Gerstheimer said. “We are hoping for 2012 to have a greater turn out.”

With artists in two countries par-ticipating, the application and judg-ing process all took place online.

“Artists had to take a picture of their piece of art and submit it online through a website we created,” Ger-stheimer said. “Along with the picture of their artwork, they had to supply a brief, yet in-depth, explanation of their representation of the border.”

Jurors were also picked from both countries. Rita Gonzalez, assistant curator in the department of contem-porary art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Itala Schmelz, di-rector at the Museo de Arte Carrillo

Gil in Mexico City were the judges for this exhibition.

“Although there were more Mexi-can states participating, only nine out of the 42 artworks that are on display are from Mexico,” Gerstheimer said. “We are hoping that in 2012 we have an equal amount of entries from both countries.”

With a low number of entries from Mexico, Gerstheimer said that a dual language website is being developed for those who do not speak English. He hopes this will increase the num-ber of entries coming from Mexico.

“We think that a lot of participants were discouraged by seeing that the application process was in English,” Gerstheimer said.

With future plans already in mo-tion, the 2012 jurors are yet to be identifi ed, but the application process will remain largely the same.

BY JACKIE DEVINEThe Prospector

Every Super Bowl has unforgettable moments, but Feb. 1 marks the seventh anniversary of the infamous Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction. Th e alleged mishap led to the Federal Communications

Commission put-ting harsh regula-tions on what is al-

lowed on television.Th e FCC is charged

with regulating all com-munications in the country.

Th is includes regulating televi-sion, radio airwaves and telegraphs communications. Th e FCC was cre-ated as a successor to the Federal Ra-

dio Commission, which was created by Congress with the Communication Act of 1934. Since the birth of televi-sion, it was necessary to have guide-lines of what people could and could not air.

Th e FCC has the power to renew or decline licensing to broadcast stations. But with the advent of cable and satel-lite the federal agency is no longer able to regulate everything.

Th e FCC is able to regulate affi liate networks by fi ning them for violating its content. A great example of this is the Jackson fi asco at Super Bowl XXX-VIII, which resulted in a heft y fi ne for the network.

“Th ey threw all the original regu-lations out. Th ey made regulations and then threw it out all together,” said Barthy Byrd, associate professor of communication. “Communica-tive laws change every day, you never know what’s going to happen.”

With the constant evolution of law, the FCC is going to have its hands full with lists of complaints. Th e Jackson incident was a milestone leaving peo-ple to wonder if they could get away with similar situations in the future. Th e price of heavy fi nes and lawsuits may convince networks to follow FCC guidelines in the future.

“I think the FCC is a good thing, and entertainers should just be care-ful with too much exposure,” said Ana Varela, senior electronic media major. “It’s important because children watch everything.”

Th e FCC limits television by setting up a number of rules and guidelines to keep public stations airing pro-grams for the good of the public. For instance, a certain amount of hours of each broadcast day was devoted to non-entertainment programming, such as news shows.

FCC might have too much power


A golden gun is among the pieces submitted for the event.

Local

FCC’s power has been growing since the Jackson incident. see FCC on page 8

see MUSEUM on page 8

LOGBwww.utepprospector.com/blogs

Television

Special to The Prospector

“KABOOM” REVIEWED

Possibly the strangest movie ever shown at Sundance.

VIDEOVisit The Prospec-tor’s online multi-media section to watch video of The Border Art Biennial.

PAGE8ENTERTAINMENT THE PROSPECTORFebruary 1, 2011

Th ere will always be an ar-gument over FCC regulations, with some individuals thinking they protect the public and oth-ers believing they only restrict.

“I’m really against the FCC, and with this new generation I think that there are so many things we can do to control the law,” said Stephanie Rayas, junior electronic media ma-jor. “It just depends. Th e law doesn’t have to interfere all the time. Society is more exposed to graphic nature in reality than what they see in the media anyways.”

In the future, even though communication laws are always subject to change, the FCC will still be there to monitor. In ad-dition, another mission and strategy of the FCC is to mod-ernize themselves.

According to the 2008 Per-formance and Accountability Report, “the Commission shall strive to be highly productive, adaptive, and innovative or-ganization that maximizes the benefi ts to stakeholders, staff , and management from eff ective systems, processes, resources, and organizational culture.”

With this said, only time can tell how the FCC will handle situations in the future.

Jackie Devine may be reached at [email protected].

FCC from page 7

Since not all the juried artwork is on display at the El Paso Museum of Art, there is a catalog that includes all artwork in both museums. Th e cata-log is available at the museum’s gift shop.

“Th e book is great,” said Daniel Ramirez, freshman pre-engineering major. “Th e only reason I bought it was because I can’t go to Cd. Juárez and see the rest of the exhibition.”

Ramirez said that without any pre-vious art knowledge, he decided to

visit the museum and checkout some local talent.

“Certain pieces of art were so ab-stract to the point where I didn’t quite get what it meant,” Ramirez said. “I still enjoyed the exhibit though, because it is a representation of the things I hear on a daily basis.”

Th e Border Art Biennial will be open to the public, free of charge, un-til Feb. 13 in the Contemporary Gal-lery of the El Paso Museum of Art.

Alejandro Alba may be reached at [email protected].


Art from both sides of the border are represented in the event.

MUSEUM from page 7

Vampires, clones, and drug addled little girls all part of this weekʼs releasesBY JAZMIN SALINASThe Prospector

“Alice In Wonderland”DVD/Blu-rayMSRP: $39.99It’s time to step

back into the rab-bit hole with Al-ice and take the wicked journey through Wonder-land. Th e release of all the Disney classics on Blu-ray and DVD allow its fans to enjoy childhood favorites with 21st century technology.

“Let Me In”DVD/Blu-rayMSRP: $39.9912-year old

Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) befriends his new neigh-bor, Abby (Chloe Moretz), who hap-pens to be a vam-

pire. Th is drama/horror fi lm is based on the Swedish novel “Let the Right One In” by John Ajvide Lindqvist and is sure to quench vam-pire lovers’ thirst.

“Never Let Me Go”DVD/Blu-rayMSRP: $39.99

Keira Knightley ditches the pirate role for this sci-ence fi ction drama fi lm based on the highly ac-claimed novel by Kazuo

Ishiguro. Th e well-adapted fi lm satisfi es fans of science fi ction and romantic drama.

“Monsters”DVD/Blu-rayMSRP: $29.99At fi rst glance, this

fi lm looks like it would be a fl op, but critics have sang its praises. Th e low-budget fi lm takes the idea of monsters in Mexico and adds “District 9” style to it.

“Th e Tillman Story”DVD/Blu-rayMSRP: $24.96Th e heroism and mys-

terious death of Pat Till-man lives on through the controversial documen-tary about the cover-up

that the government and the media seemed to be in on.

Jazmin Salinas may be reached at [email protected].

New Releases

sportsFebruary 1, 2011

PAGE 9

editorSal Guerrero, 747-7445

Basketball

Miners look to rebound from road loss

File Photo

Senior point guard Julyan Stone is averaging 5.5 assists per game, ranking second in Conference USA. He has helped the Miners lead the conference in assists per game (15.8).

WHAT WAS THE SCORE?MEN’S BASKETBALL: TULSA 69, UTEP 68 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: TULANE 69, UTEP 63

Record-breaking Troupe back from injurySoftball

BY WILLIAM VEGAThe Prospector

When Chelsea Troupe steps into the batter’s box, all thoughts of what has been and will be are forgotten un-til she is back in the dugout.

Troupe, a junior utility player, be-gan her UTEP career with a bang in 2009. She was a fi rst-team all Confer-ence USA selection, a Louisville Slug-ger/National Fastpitch Coaches As-sociation All-Midwest Region choice, and the Conference USA Freshman of the Year in the same year. Troupe holds freshman records with 42 runs, 69 hits, 17 doubles, 118 total bases, 24 walks and with a .406 batting average.

Th at same year, Troupe also broke the UTEP record with 15 stolen bases in one season. Th roughout her two seasons with the Miners, Troupe has stolen 21 bases in 23 attempts includ-ing a perfect 6-for-6 in 2010. Troupe’s record-breaking streak was cut short due to a shoulder injury, which caused her to miss 15 games.

“We defi nitely missed having her in the lineup, everyday she brought a great bat to the lineup,” assistant coach Dana Lambert said. “People had to step in and accept diff erent roles. It would have helped a lot to have her in the lineup.”

Despite only playing in 40 games in 2010, Troupe made her impact known when the opportunity arose.

She ranked third on the team with a .291 batting average, a .545 slugging percentage, a .349 on base percent-age, 27 RBIs and nine doubles. She came in second on the team with seven home runs and even connected for her fi rst career grand slam Feb. 15 at NMSU.

Troupe opted to wait for surgery un-til the off season in summer 2010, but the recovery was time-consuming.

“It was sore (last year) but I played through it. I had surgery and re-hab and did everything I could to make sure I could be back this sea-son,” Troupe said. “I did rehab over summer and while I was away over Christmas break and I’m just back feeling great.”

When Troupe fi rst made the shift from Oceanside, California to El Paso she had an unexpected home-town opponent waiting to join her

at UTEP. Junior outfi elder and fellow 2008 Avocado League fi rst-team se-lection, Courtney Ware, recalls play-ing Troupe and her talented prep-school, El Camino, while at Vista High School.

“I’ve known Chelsea for awhile. We weren’t exactly rival high schools but our team always considered them rivals because her team was usually better than us,” Ware said. “I would try to defend her as best as I could out

there but she was tough, really tough. We committed at diff erent times so we didn’t know either of us were go-ing to the same school when we com-mitted. But once I found out, I was a lot more reassured.”

Other than knowing and playing against each other, Ware and Troupe didn’t have much contact with each other. But from that bond they shared on the diamond, Troupe was confi -dent with the move.


Junior utility Chelsea Troupe attempts a throw from the outfield during the first practice of softball season.

see TROUPE on page 10

“I feel I can also be part of that leadership group we have. With Cammy and our three other seniors leaving, someone will have to step up and I hope that will be me.”

- Chelsea Troupe, junior utility

BY SAL GUERREROThe Prospector

In a weekend that saw the UTEP men’s basketball team’s hope for a le-gitimate fi rst place standing in Con-ference USA dwindle aft er a last sec-ond shot, head coach Tim Floyd said he will not settle for mediocrity.

During a practice session, in an empty Don Haskins Center, which usually holds 12,222 fans on a good night, Floyd’s shouts could be heard outside the arena. His grievance to the players was simple, shoot the ball and get aft er it.

“On tape…it was not a very good UTEP team that I saw,” Floyd said. “We’re going to fi nish this session and get aft er them right now. We have to get better today, we have to get bet-ter tomorrow, or else we’ll get beat on Wednesday night and we’ll get beat over at Rice on Saturday.”

UTEP (17-5, 5-2 C-USA) lost for only the second time in C-USA to a Tulsa team that out-shot, out-re-bounded and out-played the Miners in almost every category.

Despite lackadaisical playing from the Miners, Floyd said that his team proved a lot on the court Jan. 29 and it showed they could still win games when they play decent.

“We shot 38 percent with a chance to win, but that’s not good enough,” Floyd said. “You play the game

against yourselves. You play to win…but we’re not playing the game the right way.”

Th e Golden Hurricane out-rebounded the Miners 37-to-27 and out-shot UTEP on the fl oor, shooting 54 percent on the night. Th e Miners were quiet from 3-point range as well going 9-for-26, but were respectable from the free throw line, knocking down 19-of-23 shots taken.

“It wasn’t even Tulsa, we played against ourselves,” senior guard Ran-dy Culpepper said. “Everything we went over in practice we didn’t do it in the game as far quality and just help-ing each other…that’s why we came out with a loss.”

Despite the turmoil over the week-end, Culpepper feels optimistic about the next game against Central Flor-ida. He said his team has to put the loss behind them and not dwell on the past.

Th e Miners are facing a team in UCF that has not had the best of starts in conference play, losing the last six games against league opponents. Th e Golden Knights are leading C-USA in scoring defense and blocked shots, averaging 6.9 a game. Th ey are also in second place in fi eld goal percentage (48) and stand in second place—be-low the Miners—in defensive re-bounds, averaging 26.5 a game.

see REBOUND on page 10

PAGE10SPORTS THE PROSPECTORFebruary 1, 2011

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Freshman guard Michael Perez attempts a layup against Tulsa Jan. 5 at the Don Haskins Center.

02/02/11 vs. UCF * Don Haskins Center 7:00 p.m.02/05/11 at Rice * Houston, Texas 1:00 p.m.02/12/11 vs. SMU * Don Haskins Center 7:05 p.m.02/16/11 at Southern Miss Hattiesburg, Miss. 6:00 p.m.02/19/11 vs. Houston * Don Haskins Center 7:05 p.m.02/23/11 at East Carolina * Greenville, N.C. 5:00 p.m.02/26/11 vs. Memphis * Don Haskins Center 1:00 p.m.03/02/11 vs. Marshall * Don Haskins Center 7:05 p.m.03/05/11 at SMU * Dallas, Texas 1:00 p.m.

Remaining Conference USA schedule

“(UCF) is obviously dangerous. Non-conference wins against UMASS on the road, Florida and Miami…they were a 14-0 team that has probably played the toughest conference sched-ule,” Floyd said. “Th at has something to do with their little losing streak right now. But we’re looking at a team that is potentially a top-25 team.”

Leading UCF is sophomore guard Marcus Jordan, son of the former Chi-cago Bulls great Michael Jordan. He is averaging 15.7 points a game, shooting 46 percent from the fl oor and 40 per-cent from 3-point range.

In the paint for the Golden Knights is sophomore forward Keith Clanton and senior center Tom Herzog. Both players are tied for fi rst on the team with 45 blocks apiece. Clanton aver-ages 8.8 rebounds a game and on the off ensive end he is averaging 15 points per game.

Th e Miners will have to turn it around against UCF, which currently stands in last place in conference with a 1-6 record, their only win was their C-USA opener against Marshall.

During their shoot around at the Haskins Center, Floyd kept reminding

his team how poorly they shot against the last two opponents.

“Th e quality shots we took were turnovers, they were bad shots,” Floyd said. “Th is was a team (UTEP) that was leading the league in fi eld goal percent-age the last three or four games.”

Including the game against UCF, the Miners have nine games left on the year. With a schedule that leaves little room for error, if they plan to make it to consecutive NCAA tournament ap-pearances, UTEP will have their hands full with Memphis coming to town and two tough road games at Southern Mississippi and SMU.

“We have to address some things,” Floyd said. “I’m not worried about

them (opponents) as much as us. We’ve seen a little bit of everything preseason through the whole year.”

Currently the Miners are tied for fi rst place with Memphis (16-5, 5-2 C-USA), but with four of their last fi ve games on the road the conference is still up for grabs.

“We’re still in fi rst, we’re still in the hunt. Its college basketball, you can win any day and you can lose any day. You just have to come in here and get aft er it,” Culpepper said.

Th e Miners play host to UCF at 7 p.m. Feb. 2 at the Don Haskins Center.

Sal Guerrero may be reached at [email protected].

REBOUND from page 9

PAGE11SPORTSTHE PROSPECTORFebruary 1, 2011

Basketball

BY KRISTOPHER RIVERThe Prospector

From DeSoto, Texas, standing at 5-feet 4-inches, freshman guard Kelli Willingham comes to UTEP aft er a successful high school basketball career at DeSoto High School.

Willingham was a four-year starter at DeSoto High, helping the team go 129-21 in her tenure, including a 39-2 mark her junior year, which left her team as state-runner up. During her junior and senior year she was voted fi rst-team all-state, while averaging 13.8 points per game and 4.3 assists per game. When Willingham fi nished out her senior year, ESPN HoopGurls 100 ranked her as the no. 87 guard in the country.

Willingham came onto the team with great prospects aft er posting impres-sive results at the UTEP Th anksgiving Classic, and clinching Conference USA Freshman of the Week aft er a game against Idaho State.

Now, Willingham would have to summon her best to take on the chal-lenge that was awaiting her. With junior point guard Briana Green off the court due to injuries, Willingham was alter-nated to fi ll in the spot, and measure up to a level of intense requirements.

“Th ere are a whole lot of challenges on me right now,” Willingham said. “It’s making me grow up faster than prob-ably what I would have, overall it’s mak-ing me a better player.”

Aft er much anticipation, Willingham is proving herself on the court. Accord-ing to head coach Keitha Adams, she gets better every time she steps on the court.

“I think she’s doing a good job over-all, she’s carrying a big responsibility for us. She’s helped us win games. I think that the key is she continues to grow and get better and she will. It’s going to give her great experience,” Adams said.

Adams plans to train Willingham to be a better leader and player. At this point, Willingham seems to be off to a good start.

“We have high expectations of her, and I know she has high expectations of herself,” Adams said. “She’s a com-petitor and she wants to win. I think she’s doing a good job, we just need to continue to work with her.”

Willingham has been required to take on a lot of responsibility in her new role, but remains optimistic and determined.

“For a freshman she’s done a great job on and off the court,” Green said. “She’s been carrying the team pretty well.”

Th ough much is demanded of Will-ingham, her coaches and teammates are ready to hand out tough advice and much-needed encouragment.

“Th ey get on me, but it’s expected. Overall though they’ve helped me a lot with this experience,” Willingham said.

Her team continues to help guide and build Willingham into a better leader and player. Expecting a lot from each other, Willingham and her team-mates acknowledge her as an impor-tant member of the team, seeing her as much more than a replacement for Green.

“We don’t need to look at her as a freshman anymore, she has high ex-pectation and she’ll amount to those,” Green said.

Kristopher Rivera may be reached at [email protected].

File Photo

Freshman point guard Kelli Willingham drives past a New Mexico State defender at the Don Haskins Center.

Freshman point guard bursts onto scene

PAGE12SPORTS THE PROSPECTORFebruary 1, 2011

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Junior utility Chelsea Troupe returns to the team after suffering a shoulder injury in the 2010 season.

“(Our parents) played together for as long as I could remember,” Troupe said. “Knowing that she was here and knowing that she did go to a rival high school, our families knew each other and everything so it was a good transition to come here and be with a friend.”

Now, with a healthy shoulder and great team chemistry, Troupe feels

confi dent about the future that lies ahead of her.

“We have Cammy (Camilla Car-rera) as our captain and three other seniors that have also been here but I feel I can also be part of that lead-ership group we have,” Troupe said. “With Cammy and our three seniors leaving (aft er the season) someone will have to step up and I hope that will be me.”

Despite her experience at the catch-er’s position, Troupe may see more

time in the outfi eld, as she did in 2010, in order to keep her and 2011 C-USA Preseason Player of the Year Carrera on the fi eld. Th ey are antici-pated to bat somewhere near the third and fourth spot in the lineup but an offi cial decision is not expected to be made until the Miners’ fi rst game Feb. 10 against the University of Northern Colorado.

William Vega may be contacted at [email protected].

TROUPE from page 9

Documents

The Prospector 02/01/11